A group of law students at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law are helping with the legal side of recovery after the devastating wildfires in Maui in August. 

The students are volunteering through the Pepperdine Caruso Law Pro Bono Program, which is part of the school’s Clinical Education Program.

“Under the leadership of Professors Jeff Baker and Peter Fendel, about 20 Pepperdine Law students volunteered their time and legal skills to assist Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) in providing assistance to citizens of Maui who lost their homes and/or businesses in the wildfires,” Caruso School of Law student Matteson Landau told Fox News Digital.

Landau is a second-year law student originally from Texas. 

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The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation is an organization dedicated to protecting and advancing Native Hawaiian identity and culture, says its website. It does so by “integrating Kanaka Maoli (indigenous Hawaiian) values into the practice of law and advocacy in courts and before administrative agencies.”

Pepperdine’s students were particularly inspired to assist those in Hawaii in part due to the school’s recent history. 

“The Pepperdine community knows firsthand the tragic effects of wildfires, as our own campus and city was affected by the Malibu Woolsey Fire in 2018,” said Landau. Pepperdine University is located in Malibu. 

After that fire, Baker “was inspired to develop a legal aid program for disaster relief, and students at that time learned how to file FEMA applications and draft appeal letters,” Landau said.  

Pepperdine Law students then used this training to assist with the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Harvey, she said. 

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That work continues today with the situation in Hawaii. 

“The Hawaiian people are our Pacific neighbors, and we will always offer support and Aloha, just as the people of Hawaii would do for us,” Fendel, executive director of externship and pro bono programs at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law, said in a press release. “We are honored as a university and a law school to serve the Native Hawaiian population of Maui.”

Under the supervision of NHLC lawyers, “Pepperdine Law students worked in pairs to help clients file FEMA applications and draft FEMA appeal letters,” Landau told Fox News Digital.  

“We are honored as a university and a law school to serve the Native Hawaiian population of Maui.”

The students’ work with NHLC was especially helpful due to Hawaii’s “very strict rules prohibiting lawyers from other states from providing legal assistance,” said Landau. 

Law students, however, are not considered lawyers. They’re allowed to do legal work in Hawaii as long as they are under the supervision of a Hawaiian attorney, she said.

“Because of this rule, it was especially important to provide law student volunteer support,” said Landau. 

She continued, “The number of Hawaiian State Bar certified attorneys is limited, and barred attorneys across the rest of the U.S. were not able to provide the same level of legal support without violating Hawaii’s unauthorized practice of law regulations.” 

The NHLC assisted Maui residents with receiving FEMA funding they were entitled to after the wildfires, said Landau. 

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By using “the assistance of NHLC, clients could ensure their FEMA applications were filed correctly and submitted on time,” she said. 

“If a FEMA application is denied, then the appeal window opens and the applicant can send a letter affirming their eligibility, explaining their situation in detail, and correcting any errors or miscommunications in the original application.” 

The students from Pepperdine Law “primarily focused on drafting these appeal letters, while the NHLC lawyers helped facilitate client information, reviewed the drafts and completed the filing process,” said Landau.

Landau told Fox News Digital that she found the work “incredibly impactful” — and that she was able to see firsthand how her volunteer work was changing lives. 

“Through our volunteer work with NHLC this semester, my partner and I were able to assist a native Hawaiian woman in filing a FEMA appeal letter after her initial application was denied,” she said.

The woman lost her home in the wildfires and provided all documentation from her landlord, yet FEMA denied her claim as her roommate at the time had already received funding, according to Landau.

“I was so amazed to see how simple legal research and writing could be influential in allowing a person to begin rebuilding their life.” 

“After legal research and consultation with attorneys at NHLC, we determined our client was still eligible to receive her own FEMA funding because she was not related to her roommate and would not be part of the same household anymore,” she said.

Landau and her partner were able to document these facts — and the two drafted a letter detailing the woman’s situation.

“Our client was relying on family and friends to provide shelter until she could secure her FEMA funding and move forward with her life,” said Landau.

“I was so amazed to see how simple legal research and writing could be influential in allowing a person to begin rebuilding their life.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) for comment.

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